The Assassin and The ESPer
by Calimetaure
Summary: [FINISHED] ::WKxSM:: Makoto's ESP has developed too quickly for her to handle. She is breaking down in the park when someone saves her from falling off a bridge. Everything goes down from there.
1. Prologue

Yes, this is *really* short, and twice as confusing ... it's supposed to be. Enjoy! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Prologue //Such a lovely day ... //   
Nani? 

//KAMISAMA I'M LATE! ... //   
Who ... 

//I hate my life ... //   
How ... 

//K'so! Not again! ... //   
Yamero ... 

//Shimatta! I forgot to study for that damned test! ... //   
No more ... 

//What is she doing? Is she stupid? ... //   
Please ... 

//TASUKETE! ONEGAI KAMISAMA! TASUKETE!!! ... //   
Nani ... 

//I can't much more of his bitching or I swear I'm gonna kill him ... //   
What is ... 

//My school is behind the building, she says ... NO SHIT THE SCHOOL IS BEHIND THE BLOODY BUILDING!!! ... //   
What's happening to me? ... 

"Shhh ... you're safe now ... " a soothing voice whispered, "Daijobu. I'll take care of you." 

And all that was, was black. 

~Owari, prologue~


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1   
  
Makoto slowly became aware of leaning into the warmth of the body holding her. She was grateful   
to the person who was currently saving her from falling off the bridge into the cold waters   
beneath, but had no strength to tell him or her that.   
"Don't speak, you're much too exhausted," the boy said, for his voice was far too   
masculine to be female and not deep enough for him to be a man, //What happened back there, hmmm?   
It's not often one chooses the park to pass out in.//   
  
The girl moaned softly and buried her face in the crook of the boys' neck as if to ward off the   
voice. She could practically *feel* him frown in worry. Working on reserves, she managed to   
force a whispered sentence out of her dry mouth.   
"I ... can ... *Hear* ... I can Hear voices ... onegai ... make them stop ... "   
  
The boy stiffened in shock, and that was the last Makoto knew before drifting off to   
unconsciousness again.   
//An ESPer? And her powers developed only now? How peculiar ... // Nagi thought to   
himself, half excited, //Crawford should have a look at her ... perhaps we can even help develop   
her powers.//   
//Tsk, tsk, Nagi-chan. Are you thinking of actually *helping* a strange girl? Brad will   
not be happy.//   
  
The brown haired boy rolled his eyes playfully, knowing the telepath was just teasing him, but   
was unable to resist his retort.   
//Urusei, Schuldich. If you must know, I am, and I don't really care if Brad likes it or   
not. She can't just be left here. She'll die, slowly but surely, as more and more people shun   
her. And I will not stand by and watch. Not when I know what the feeling is like.//   
//All right, all right, no need to get mellow-dramatic. We'll bring her to the house,   
I'll have a peek in her head, and we'll see just how powerful an ESPer she is.//   
  
Nagi grinned to himself and pulled the unconscious girl closer to him as he walked away from the   
bridge to the back alleys of Tokyo. Making sure no one could see him, though it was night, the   
assassin boy moved swiftly towards his friend's car. And sure enough, there was the black   
vehicle with Schuldich behind the wheel, reclining and smoking. The brunette boy shook his head   
and grinned to himself.   
//Oi, wake up and start the car, or I'll start it for you. And put that clove out. I   
don't know if she's allergic or not, but we are *not* gonna find out the hard way.// he Thought   
at the telepath, who grinned and flicked his cigarrette out the window.   
//Whatever you say, sergent.//   
  
Nagi just rolled his eyes and Opened the car door, still half a block away. He could hear the   
car start and purr like a kitten, with Schuldich waiting for him to get in. Gently lowering   
himself onto the seats, making sure the girl did not bump her head or hurt herself, the   
telekinetic Closed the door and the German man drove off.   
"So where'd you find her?" Schuldich asked him, glancing in the rear view mirror.   
"On the bridge at the edge of the park."   
"The Quiet one ... "   
"Aa. She's an ESPer, I'm sure. I couldn't hear *her* thoughts, but she claimed to be able   
to hear others."   
  
Schuldich nodded.   
"I'm fairly sure she can. I experianced the same thing she is; anxitey, pain, and I   
passed out, when I first learned that I was a telepath."   
  
Nagi looked at his friend, surprised. He had never really thought that Schuldich had ever had   
problems with his telepathy, due to the fact that he was so at ease with it now. Looking back on   
it, there were times when he had first met Schuldich that he had witnessed moments of weakness   
when the thoughts became too loud, too strong, for his friend to handle.   
"So telepathy and ESP are the same, except for the projecting thoughts part?"   
"Pretty much. Also, ESP is somewhat like Empathy, so I wouldn't be surprised if she can   
tell when someone is hurt or upset."   
  
The telekinetic nodded and looked down at his female charge.   
"Do you think Brad'll be really pissed?"   
  
Schuldich shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road as he turned a corner.   
"I don't know. But ... if I have to ... I'll stick up for you."   
"Domo, Schu-niisan."   
"Nichts zu danken."   
  
The rest of the ride to their large mansion was fairly quiet. Schuldich even forwent listening   
to his usual loud music in favor of a soothing, more classical station, something Nagi was glad   
for. It was not that he minded the louder music, but with the girl in her condition, he did not   
think the loud music would be very good for her. Apparently, neither did the telepath, or it   
would be on.   
//What's her name, Schu-niisan?//   
//Makoto. Kino Makoto.//   
  
Looking down at the girl, Nagi realized that the boys name fit her. She was beautiful, but she   
had the right build for a good martial artist.   
//That's 'cause she *is* a martial artist.//   
"Get out of my head, Schu-schu," the telekinetic snapped playfully, locking down his   
mental barriers.   
"They're getting better."   
"Huh?"   
"Your barriers. It's about time, too."   
  
Ignoring the playful bribe, Nagi moved Makoto into a more comfortable position against his chest   
so she was lying with her head in the crook of his neck and rested his head on the back of the   
seat. Not really knowing, or caring, what the time was, the telekinetic soon found himself   
asleep.   
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
A bright flash woke Nagi up from his sound sleep. Blinking in an attempt to clear the fog from   
his eyes, he immediately became aware of Schuldich standing over him with a camera.   
"You know that you can't black mail me. I'll just destroy the camera," the telekinetic   
announced with a huge yawn, rubbing his eyes.   
"Ahh, but you can't."   
"Can't what?"   
"Destroy the camera. To do that would be to destroy all the images of that meteor shower   
two nights ago," the orange haired man grinned wildly.   
"Damn you ... " Nagi hissed.   
  
He carefully shifted Makoto around so that Schuldich was carrying her as they entered the large   
mansion that was their safehouse. Farfello was watching some cartoon about five boys with large   
meccas that blew up large bases, grinning like the insane man he played during missions. In   
truth, though the Irishman did have a sadistic side, he was not in the least bit insane. Rather,   
he was very smart and did *not* have a thing against God. He just carried out orders very well   
and had been an actor at one time. Brad was in the kitchen, a cup of coffee on the table and the   
newspaper in hand.   
"What have I told you about helping strangers, Nagi?" he asked without looking up.   
  
Nagi blushed and hid behind Schuldich.   
"Eh ... you haven't?"   
"That is besides the point. The point is: she could be a possible liability."   
"Demo Brad! She's an ESPer. She could also be an asset."   
  
The older man lowered the newspaper so he could look at Nagi, who was peeking out from behind   
Schuldich, who carried the unconscious girl. Looking her over, he nodded slightly.   
"She has an atheltic build. Are you sure she is an ESPer?"   
  
The telekinetic nodded vigorously.   
"Hai."   
"And will she mind living with assassins?"   
"How am I supposed to know that?"   
  
Brad smiled vaguely.   
"All right. We'll ... "keep" her. For now. The minute she becomes a problem, we will   
dispose of her, or find something to threaten her with."   
"You know Brad ... you're cruel sometimes," Shuldich sighed, "She can't *do* anything to   
us. Who'd believe her? She hears voices, for cryin' out loud. They'd sooner throw her in an   
asylum."   
"I say we keep her," Farfello put in softly, "She could be used to find the kittens."   
  
Brad sighed and took off his glasses to wipe at his eyes.   
"I said we would keep her."   
"But you also said we might kill her. I won't let you do that," Nagi announced, coming   
out from behind the German.   
  
The oracle studied the telekinetic for a while. Nagi glared right back at him, not backing down.   
Finally Brad nodded.   
"She stays in *your* room, and I do not want to see her in my office."   
  
Nagi smiled and rushed over to briefly hug the older man, pulling away before he was pushed away.   
He smiled widely and nodded.   
"Sankyuu."   
  
~Owari, chapter 1~ 


	3. Chapter 2

This chapter is going to feature a bunch of capital letters randomly inserted in the sentences.   
This is intentional; it refers to the use of the various powers.   
Enjoy!   
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Chapter 2   
  
The young telekinetic followed his German friend up to his room and watched as the orange haired   
man tucked the girl in with a gentleness he had not thought possible of him.   
"I heard that," Schuldich muttered, brushing some bangs away from Makoto's face, "I'll   
have you know that I can be as gentle as a mouse, should I feel the need to be. She's someone I   
feel the need to be gentle with."   
  
Nagi tilted his head to the side, studying his friend.   
//She's different, is that it? Like a kindred spirit or some nonsense like that.// he   
Thought at the older man.   
  
He was rewarded with a short nod from the German.   
"I'm going to have a peek inside her head. She's probably still huring and it's going to   
take time, so tell the others not to bother me."   
"Aa," Nagi agreed.   
  
Behind them the door slammed shut. Schuldich smirked and his eyes became unfocused as he dived   
into the layers of her brain, searching for her conscious.   
  
~*~*@*@*%*%*@*@*~*~   
  
He found her in the region where nightmares and horrible experiances were remembered and   
re-visited.   
"Haha! Chichi! Anata wa doko?!" the little girl cried.   
  
Schuldich turned to face the source of the sound, alarmed. Surely she could not have gained   
brain damage from a few voices!   
"Makoto?" he asked softly.   
"Iie," another, more mature voice answered from behind him, "Koko."   
  
He spun around to face the young woman he was looking for. He was about to speak when he got a   
good look at her. She was 'sitting' on a ledge, watching the little girl with troubled and sad   
eyes, arms wrapped around her legs. He approached her slowly and stood.   
"May I sit down?"   
"Hai."   
  
The German sat and stared at the image of the little girl, running around looking for someone on   
an airplane. It seemed that the plane had caught fire, the seats were burning and bodies, some   
dead some not, were cast about. But it was not moving.   
//A crash.//   
"Aa."   
  
The girl ran to and fro, searching aisles, coughing harshly, trying to keep herself from getting   
burned.   
"Who is she?" he finally asked, curious and gentle in his manner.   
"Watashi o," Makoto replied, "That's me when I was very young. My parents and I were   
coming back from a vacation when the plane crash landed in the middle of Arizona. It caught on   
fire, the safety features all went haywire, and I nearly died."   
"How did you get out?"   
  
The ESPer shrugged, watching the images play out, getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Finally they   
disappeared alltogether. She waved a hand in that direction, as if that explained it.   
"I blacked out. When I woke up I was in the hospital."   
  
In front of them, the images no longer played. Makoto turned to look at Schuldich.   
"How did you find me?" she asked, tilting her head, "Where is my Shugotenshi?"   
"Shugotenshi? ... Ah! You mean Nagi! He is waiting for you."   
"Dare da?"   
"Schuldich. I'm a telepath."   
"A freak like me ... "   
  
The German gave a bitter laugh.   
"Ja. A freak of nature -- "   
"Who shouldn't be allowed to live," she smiled grimly at him, "I know. I've heard the   
same thing over and over. My classmates assumed that because I was the only one to survive the   
crash that I was some sort of supernatural being. Thus I became an outcast. I can Hear voices,   
you know."   
"Ja, I know. That's why I came to find you. I can teach you to use your barriers, to make   
them stronger. You don't have to go through this alone."   
  
Makoto studied him thoughtfully. She glanced back at the space where images of classmates   
taunting her played out.   
"Not alone, huh? ... That'd be nice for a change."   
"Oh come on. You can't really say you've *always* been alone, can you?"   
  
Glancing from him to the space, she shook her head.   
"Iie ... " the ESPer sighed.   
  
Schuldich noticed they had moved to a different section of her memories. He saw her first true   
friends; Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei; Aino Minako, and Tsukino Usagi. He saw their battles, their pain.   
Their last enemy had been defeated only recently, and now the poor girl was Hearing voices in her   
head.   
"You have had it rough," Schuldich admitted, "But it's nothing that a little time can't   
fix. With some practice, you'll only be able to Hear those you want to Hear, to Feel the emotions   
of those you want to Feel."   
"Wakatta ... arigatou gozaimasu."   
"Don't thank me now. Thank me when we set up your mental blocks. You have to wake up   
first, you know."   
  
~*~*@*@*%*%*@*@*~*~   
  
Nagi watched as the telepath jerked back into full awareness with a sudden Shove. He stared   
slightly, not expecting it, the telepath had been messing about in Makoto's mind for well over an   
hour now.   
"I'll be damned," the orange haired man whispered.   
  
Beside him, Nagi nearly squirmed, impatient for news.   
"Nani?" he asked, forcing himself to sound composed.   
  
Schuldich shook his head and stared down at the still sleeping girl, a small smile growing on the   
corners of his lips. He finally seemed to realize Nagi's presence and turned to look at him.   
"Kono bishoujo ... " he started, still in awe, "She's almost as powerful as you or I.   
It's amazing! I've never seen an ESPer this powerful. She could nearly be a telepath."   
  
The younger boy shook his head and grinned down at the older man.   
"You're taking this far too much to heart, Schu-niisan. I almost think you're in love   
with her."   
  
Before the German could protest, Makoto wrinkled her nose as she fought her way to consciousness.   
They watched her eyes open slowly, bit by bit, so her eyes could get used to the light. When   
they opened fully and settled, unfocused, on Schuldich, the two men were stunned by the amazing   
shade of green. Nagi looked between Schuldich and Makoto, noting the similar features the two   
shared, namely the eyes.   
"Schu-schu?" Makoto whispered, eyes focusing properly.   
  
Nagi felt a twinge of jealousy spur through his system, but he quickly shooed it away, not   
wanting Schuldich to have the satisfaction of knowing his jealousy. The German gave no   
indication of sensing the Nagi's jealous thoughts as he nodded and brushed some bangs off   
Makoto's forehead.   
"Ja."   
"Danke ... "   
  
The telekinetic raised an eyebrow, amused.   
"Teaching her German already, Schu-niisan? Monopolizer."   
  
Schuldich snorted and stood from Makoto's bed side.   
"Right, Nagi," he grinned, "That's not even a real word, but whatever you say. I'll get   
you some food, okay Makoto?"   
  
The said girl pushed herself into a sitting position and nodded slowly, not wanting to bring on a   
headache. Schuldich ruffled her hair, though she batted at his hand playfully, and walked to the   
door, opening it.   
//She's all your, Nagi-chaaan. You don't have to be jealous of me.//   
  
Nagi refused to let his surprise show, but Sent the other man a nice selection of choise phrases,   
keeping his eyes on Makoto. The bed ridden girl watched the German leave the room, then turned   
to look at Nagi.   
"Shugotenshi ... arigatou ... "   
  
The telekinetic nearly fell over.   
"Shugotenshi? Hardly. I can bearly protect myself, let alone someone else."   
  
Makoto shook her head, more vigorously this time.   
"Iie! You protected me! I am greatful to you for that. And damn it, if I wanna call you   
'shugotenshi', you're gonna be called 'shugotenshi'!"   
  
Nagi stared down at the auburn haired girl in suprise. She blushed and looked away, and the   
telekinetic did something he swore never to do again: he laughed. A sudden, genuine burst of   
laughter, brought forth because of pure amusement. Never before had anybody dared to talk to him   
like that.   
//It's rather refreshing, really,// Nagi thought to himself, careful to keep his shields   
up so she could not Hear him.   
  
Makoto watched him out of the corner of her eye, trying to chase the blush from her cheeks.   
//He's got a nice laugh ... I wonder how often he uses it ... //   
  
When the laughing subsided, Nagi held out his hand to her.   
"Would you like a tour? If Schu-niisan is going to be your teacher, you'll probably be   
staying here for a while. Do you have any family you want to contact?" he asked.   
  
Makoto shook her head, finally looking back at him.   
"Iie. ... Just some friends who need to know where I am."   
"I'm afraid that will have to wait until we get some answers," said a new voice.   
  
Without turning, Nagi frowned and sighed. Brad did like to make things difficult.   
  
~Owari, chapter 2~ 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
"Really Brad, it's just a few phone calls. What damage is *that* gonna do?" Schuldich's  
voice quipped.  
  
He brought the tray of food in and set it by Makoto on the bed, sitting down near her. Nagi sat  
down on the floor, leaning against the bed, now facing Brad and Farfello. Makoto, for her part,  
watched the pre-cog warily. She could not hear his thoughts, nor could she read his face, which  
made her both nervous and annoyed. The black haired man ignored the telepath and kept his gaze  
trained on the young girl, which made her want to look away, but her pride and stubbornness would  
not allow for that. Something shiny however, *did* catch her attention, causing her to look at  
it.  
"Nani o mite?" Farfello asked briskly.  
  
That snapped Makoto out of her staring, and drooling, at the man's knife, and caused her to look  
sheepishly at him.  
"Gomen ... I just ... "  
"Just what?"  
"I sorta ... kinda ... have an obsession with sharp, pointy objects ... " she trailed  
off, looking out the window.  
  
She kept an eye on the Irish man, however, and the very nice, sharp, pointy object he held.  
Schuldich and Nagi were both surprised, she could Feel it, and she longed to disappear into a  
convenient hole. To her surprise, the knife was twirled around and handed to her by the Irish  
man. She took it, handling it like a religious person would the Holy Grail, and looked curiously  
up at him.  
"I'll show you the rest of my collection someday. For now ... take care of this one," the  
man gave her a brief, not quite smile, not quite smirk, and turned to leave.  
  
On his way out, Farfello was stopped by Brad. He nodded to the other man once.  
"Any girl who can appreciate a knife like that is OK by me. She'll do fine."  
  
It was not so much the first sentence as the second that startled Makoto. She tilted her head  
quizzically and tried to Push her way into his head, but found that he had wonderful shields as  
well.  
//Shimatta! Why is it that I can Hear voices of people I don't *want* to hear, but can  
Hear them?// she thought angrily.  
//Because they are trained to keep me out.// Schuldich replied, //And to do that, they  
*have* to be good.//  
//Egotist.//  
//And proud of it.//  
  
Brad coughed lightly.  
//If you two don't mind ... // he Thought at them, knowing they would hear him.  
  
Makoto gasped.  
"But ... you're not a voice! ... I don't understand ... "  
  
He looked down at her coldly.  
"Some ESPer you've picked up for us, Nagi. She doesn't even know her own power," he  
silenced any protests with a brisk wave, "Ima, shoujo ... "  
  
The girl stared up at him, trying to mask her fear.  
"Why is it that you don't know your own power, hmmm? Are you really that ignorant of  
yourself?" he paused, "Or maybe your parents thought you were mad and you just escaped from the  
institution, is that it? Perhaps you think you're crazy and just want some attention."  
  
While he was talking, Brad kept a close study of their new charge. When he mentioned her  
parents, she clenched her fist and anger replaced the fear in her eyes. When he implied that she  
simply wanted some attention, she looked ready to kill him.  
"BAKA YAROU!!!" she screamed.  
  
Schuldich could have sworn the whole room shook.  
"I have never once been in an institution. Not. Once. Not. For. Anything," she bit out at  
the black haired man, "If you *must* know, I've been a bit too busy saving the bloody world and  
*dying* to even *notice* my powers."  
  
Nagi's eyes widened and he swiveled around to stare at her.  
"To take it a step further," she continued, "I'm assuming they just developed tonight,  
because I'd never Heard the voices before."  
  
Brad looked down his nose at her.  
"Oh? And what about your parents hmmm?"  
  
Now Makoto looked down at the bed and clenched her jaw, bangs hiding her eyes.  
"That's really none of your business."  
  
The pre-cog looked at Schuldich, demanding to be told without a word. The telepath shook his  
head, ignoring the way the black haired man's eyes hardened.  
"I'll tell you later, Bradley, there's no need to rush," the German smirked, knowing his  
boss hated that nickname.  
  
Sure enough, Brad's jaw clenched slightly, and he turned on his heel.  
"I expect her to be more disciplined than you, Schuldich. Nagi, you'd better hope that  
she is."  
  
The telekinetic watched his boss as he smoothly exited the room, slack jawed. Then he turned to  
Schuldich with anger in his eyes.  
"He's treating her like a piece of ... of ... of meat! Where does his get this Holier  
than thou bullshit from, anyway?"  
"Being Estes favorite?" Schuldich shrugged, "Beats me."  
  
The orange haired man ruffled Makoto's hair.  
"Don't worry about him too much. You've got three out of four on your side, he can't do  
anything."  
  
She nodded slightly, offering him a tiny smile.  
"Danke, aniki."  
  
Schuldich grinned at the mixed sentence and stood from the bed.  
"Saa ... I'm going out to eat. You should too. I'll be back later, then you can explain  
this "saving the world" business."  
  
The two teens nodded and Makoto looked down sheepishly. As he left, the telepath patted Nagi on  
the head.  
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, now," he said, and just barely missed the pillow aimed  
at his head.  
  
~Owari, chapter 3~ 


	5. Chapter 4 (aka, The End)

Good God it's been a while since I worked on *this* one! Sorry about that, folks. Well,  
inspiration hit me a few nights ago, so I have produced ... the last chapter!  
Enjoy!  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Nagi chuckled for a few minutes after Schuldich left, and even Makoto seemed to be in a better  
mood, judging from her grin. He turned to her and motioned to the food that had been untouched.  
"You should eat, then I'll give you a tour of the place, okay?"  
  
Makoto nodded and ate gratefully. She was poised even after being interrogated, he noted  
absently, and ate with a decided air of ... he tried to think of a word and could only come up  
with grace. When she was finished, he held out his hand to her.  
"Ready?"  
"Aa," she replied, clasping his hand.  
  
He helped her out of bed.  
"Well, we can start here. This is my room. Right next to us on the left is Schuldich's  
room and the bathroom is to the right," Nagi continued to speak, motioning to the doors as they  
walked through the halls, "Down the hall is Brad's room, Farfello is behind the kitchen,  
downstairs."  
  
If Makoto found anything strange about Farfello being behind the kitchen, she said nothing,  
instead paying rapt attention to the different doors and marking where everything was in her  
mind. Every once in a while, as he talked, she would nod, but for the most part she looked  
around in awe of her surroundings. Nagi grinned to himself. From her experiances, she was by no  
means innocent, but she was innocent compaired to the rest of them. He found it was rather  
refreshing to watch her.  
"Where did you guys get all this art? It's amazing! I've never seen any of these pieces  
outside of museams," Makoto asked, stopping in front of an ancient wood-block print.  
  
Nagi cringed behind her back. The very question he had hoped ferverently that she would not ask,  
had been asked. Money. What was he going to say now?  
  
Oh, we're assassins. You know, we kill for money. The job has it downs, of course, but the pay is  
wonderful.  
  
//Yeah, that would go over really well.// he snorted mentally.  
//She asked about our money, didn't she?// Asked Schuldich from far away.  
//Yep.//  
//SchiBe ... tell her that Bradley inherited most of it.//  
  
Luckily for Nagi, Makoto was too busy examining the painting to pay much attention to Nagi's  
silence, quick though it had been.  
"It came with the house, as far as I know," he now replied, "Crawford inherited a lot of  
money, and the house."  
  
She nodded absently, brushing her fingers lightly over some of the inscription. Nagi watched her  
face, fascinated, as a blank look came over her. She seemed to be remembering something  
connected to the writing, which was an ancient script that not even he could read.  
" 'And the Moon Princess fell in love with the Earth Prince, a love that could never  
happen.' " she murmured softly, " 'Star crossed lovers, destined to one day die at the hands of a  
great evil, but to always find each other.' "  
"You ... you can read that?" Nagi asked, stunned.  
  
There was no answer. Suddenly Makoto shook her head and stumbled back a little. Nagi quickly  
moved to catch her.  
"Thanks ... " she muttered, "I feel like such an idiot. I don't normally do that."  
"It's quite all right," he assured her with a smile, "I don't mind."  
  
They looked at each other, taking in their close proximity to each other, and quickly separated,  
blushing lightly. After an awkward silence that seemed to stretch into eternity, Nagi cleared  
his throat and made as if to walk away, but he stopped and held his hand out to Makoto.  
"Shall we continue?"  
"Aa -- hai!" she replied, still embarrassed.  
  
  
They continued down the halls of the mansion until Makoto was sure she knew the entire layout by  
heart. At last they came to a door that she knew they had not passed before.  
"Where does this lead?" she asked.  
"Outside."  
  
Makoto rolled her eyes playfully.  
"I gathered that. What's outside?"  
"You'll see."  
  
And with that, they proceeded through the door and found themselves in a comfortable looking, and  
rather large, backyard of sorts. There was a series of small birdbaths throughout the pathway,  
on either side, and the path led to a large bodega. Wood beams carved into patterns of crawling  
vines held up the roof made of imported cedar and lined with marble. The path continued around  
the bodega and on into a small, friendly looking forest.  
"This place is amazing ... " Nagi heard Makoto mutter.  
  
He grinned.  
"You haven't seen anything until you've seen the gardens."  
"I'm sure."  
  
They continued walking, neither feeling any need to speak, but the silence around them was highly  
comfortable. Finally they came to the garden in the back. Makoto was struck speechless, though  
she opened her mouth to say something repeatedly.  
"Cat got your tongue?" Nagi asked, teasingly.  
  
Makoto looked at him, wonder shining in her eyes.  
"It's amazing! Marvelous! Wonderful! I've never seen anything like this but in picture  
books and fairy tales!" she finally whispered shyly.  
  
There were walls surrounding the garden, but they were covered in crawling vines that bloomed  
Morning Glory's and ivy leaves. The dirt path continued and became many paths, leading out from  
a large fountain that bore the statue of Amaratsu and was filled with gold Koi fish. The flowers  
bloomed, sometimes hydrenga, sometimes lilies, sometimes ayame, depending upon where you looked.  
"We also have lotus, wisteria and peonies, depending on the seasons. We even have plants  
that bloom in the winter, though they are few," Nagi announced.  
  
Makoto nodded, reaching out to gently brush the petals of a lily in full bloom. Nagi looked at  
her in wonder. He had never seen anyone this interested in plants before, nor one who treated  
them with such respect and delicacy. For a long time she did not speak, and Nagi did not  
pressure her to.  
"This ... this is beautiful ... " she finally repeated, "Arigatou gozaimasu, shugotenshi.  
You've given me something special just now, whether you know it or not."  
  
Nagi blushed hotly this time, and took her hand on impulse.  
"Come. We should head back."  
  
Nodding slowly, and at a loath to leave, Makoto turned with him and they left. Neither removed  
their hand from the others'.  
  
~Owari~  
  
So? What d'ya think? Crappy? Sappy? Good? Bad? Think it's a bad place for me to end? Let  
me know! 


End file.
